In what promises to be the most aggressive and busiest schedule in the 12-year history of the event, Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada will take centre stage on Saturday, Feb. 11 (CBC, CBCSports.ca, noon ET) in Prince Edward Island.
It’s the first time the festivities leading up the day will be made available throughout the province.
Hockey Night in Canada’s Ron MacLean will host the 13½-hour event from a specially built rink in Summerside, P.E.I. He’ll be joined by HNIC commentator Don Cherry, who will be doing a live segment of Coach’s Corner there.
Scotiabank Hockey Tonight and the Hotstove will also be part of the program.
“You have such threads of family [in Canada] and I think that’s what makes this Hockey Day special,” MacLean, who was part of the inaugural event in 2000, said in a conference call. “We just point a camera at some rink rat in any part of the country and it’s just a joy to watch.”
Cherry, known to break out some of the most colourful suits on his famed Coach’s Corner show for more than three decades, promised to sport a new blazer for the occasion.
“You won’t believe it,” said Cherry. “I have four of them and I haven’t quite made up my mind [which one to wear] but it will be a beauty, you can believe it.”
All seven Canadian NHL teams will be in action, beginning with Edmonton at Ottawa (2 p.m. ET), Winnipeg at Pittsburgh (2 p.m. ET), Montreal at Toronto (7 p.m. ET), and ending with Vancouver visiting Calgary (10 p.m. ET).
The four games will be broadcast on CBC and live streamed on CBCSports.ca
A Stanley Cup relay begins on Tuesday night, during which thousands will have a chance to visit with the Cup. During the course of the four-day relay, the Stanley Cup will be travelling to 12 different communities, from Tignish to Summerside to Charlottetown and Souris.
“The exposure that the province is going to get over the 13 hours of live television coverage is going to be immeasurable,” said Doug Currie, P.E.I.’s minister of Health and Wellness.
“You know, we’re well known for our hospitality and our culture, so as a province we feel fortunate and very blessed to have the opportunity to show what we are to the rest of the country.”
The day also features live remotes from across Canada, including Windsor, N.S., Verdun, Que., Thunder Bay, Winnipeg, Prince Albert, Sask., and Richmond, B.C.
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